The Case for Black With a Capital B

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(Originally broadcast January 21, 2011) On this episode of Basic Black, a conversation about the Company One production of NEIGHBORS. The play is probably most noted for its minstrel characters (black actors in blackface) but it's primary focus is on issues of racism, classism, and identity.more

(Originally broadcast January 6, 2011) On this episode of Basic Black, we take a look at the work ahead for President Obama and the new Congressional Republican leadership. We'll also discuss early developments in the race for the Boston City Council seat being vacated by Chuck Turner, the sentencing of former State Senator Dianne Wilkerson, Huckleberry Finn and the n-word, the "redemption" of Michael Vick, and the release of the Scott sisters in Mississippi.

(Originally broadcast January 21, 2011) On this episode of Basic Black, a conversation about the Company One production of NEIGHBORS. The play is probably most noted for its minstrel characters (black actors in blackface) but it's primary focus is on issues of racism, classism, and identity.more

(Originally broadcast on February 11, 2011) As we approach Valentine’s Day this Basic Black conversation takes a look at the cultural myths of the single black female: educated, self-sufficient, independent...or lonely, angry and emasculating?
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(Originally broadcast February 25, 2011) The controversy over sex education in public schools; also, as February comes to a close, a discussion on the relevance of Black History Month. We also pause to acknowledge the loss of Say Brother producer Beth Deare, who died earlier this week.

(Originally broadcast on March 18, 2011) A Basic Black conversation: African American Muslims and the Congressional Hearings on Radicalization in Islamic Communities. Were the hearings about minimizing a terror threat or demonizing a specific community?
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(Originally broadcast on March 25, 2011)
Our topic this week: black “authenticity.” Grant Hill of the Phoenix Suns wrote an op-ed piece in the New York Times in response to Jalen Rose, who accused him of being an Uncle Tom when Hill played for the basketball team at Duke University. This episode sparked a heated debate all across the internet; but in a deeper and more important sense, it also touched upon a familiar theme in African American life in regards to the question – what does it mean to be authentically black? And how do class distinctions contribute to the notion of black authenticity?
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